Helen Richey (1909-1947)
McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
In 1934 this McKeesport native became the 1st woman to pilot a commercial airliner. Discriminated against because she was a woman, she resigned within a year and went on to become the 1st woman licensed instructor by the Civil Aeronautics Authority; & in WWII, the commandant of the American wing, British Air Transport Auxiliary; member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots; & Major by the war's end.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Helen Richey of McKeesport broke into the sky in 1934 when she became the first woman to fly a commercial airliner — only to face such hostility from male colleagues that she resigned within a year. Undeterred, she became the first woman licensed as an instructor by the Civil Aeronautics Authority. When war came she rose to command the American wing of Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, flew with the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, and finished the war a Major.
Why it matters
Richey's career shows both the courage of aviation's women pioneers and the barriers they faced, opening cockpit doors that generations of women would later fly through.
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Related people
- · Helen Richey
Related events
- · Women's Airforce Service Pilots
- · British Air Transport Auxiliary
Themes & tags
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